Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg voted BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year… but she won’t be at World Cup
- Ada Hergerberg was the first female recipient of the Ballon d’Or last year
- Latest award draws further attention to her absence from the World Cup
- She has refused to play for Norway in protest at treatment of female players
Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg has been voted BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, drawing further attention to her absence from the upcoming World Cup.
The 23-year-old, who was the first female recipient of the Ballon d’Or, highlighted her dominance when scoring a hat-trick in last weekend’s Champions League final and saw off competition from four other shortlisted players.
But she has refused to play for Norway over frustrations about the treatment of female players in her home country, and will therefore not play at this summer’s World Cup in France.
Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg has been voted BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year
On discovering she had won the BBC award for the second time, she explained: ‘Football is my biggest passion in life and I’ve worked really hard to get here.
‘It’s so important to me so I can’t sit and watch things not go in the right direction. It would be easy for me to perform, do my thing, and stay quiet.
‘But it’s so much bigger than that. Winning all these trophies and having all this success gives you a voice.’
Hegerberg, who was controversially asked to twerk during the Ballon d’Or ceremony last year, said her stance was important to initiate change.
‘The men in the suits can’t ignore that,’ she said. ‘They are going to understand one day. They are going to understand that this is about society and it’s about modern football.’
The 23-year-old Norwegian was the first female recipient of the Ballon d’Or last year